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GGGI signs a Funding Agreement with Luxembourg to enhance climate resilience through solar power-driven access to water in rural areas in Vanuatu

Seoul, Republic of Korea, May 28 – The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) signed a Funding Agreement with the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg today to work on a project which aims to enhance climate resilience through solar power-driven access to water in rural areas of Outer Islands in Vanuatu. The Agreement was signed by Dr. Frank Rijsberman, Director-General of GGGI, Carole Dieschbourg, Minister for the Environment of Luxembourg and Pierre Gramegna Minister of Finance of Luxembourg.

To support the implementation of the Project, Luxembourg has agreed to provide a financial contribution in an amount of EUR 1,500,000 to GGGI. Under the Agreement, GGGI will work in close collaboration with the Ministry of Climate Change, the Department of Geology, Mines and Water Resources’ (DGMWR) and the Department of Environment of Luxembourg to tackle challenges to climate change and water resource vulnerability in Vanuatu. Vanuatu, a small island developing state (SIDS) with an estimated population of 284,700, is classified as a Least Developed Country and one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change and natural disasters.

“GGGI is a partner that has long-term local presence in areas of the world where our development agency, LuxDev, is not present,” said Dr. André Weidenhaupt, Director-General, Department of Environment, Ministry of Sustainable Development and Infrastructure . “We wanted a partner that aims at delivering projects that are at the nexus of climate change, sustainable development, water management and other environmental objects.”

GGGI together with the ministries of Luxembourg will cooperate to increase resilience in rural Ni-Vanuatu village communities to deal with future climate change impacts, including severe droughts and tropical cyclones through implementation of solar powered water pumps and strengthen the institutional environment for management of solar water pumping systems and water resources.

Further, the project will address the lack of adaptive capacity and vulnerability of the rural water sector to adverse climate effects and remove barriers for the wide-scale utilization of solar power to meet the water needs of households, communities and micro-businesses initially in few target sites and eventually in the whole country. The project aims to create conditions that enable sustainable local management of the systems and replication and up-scale of investments in sustainable water infrastructure to rural and remote island areas.

The project impact will be achieved through four outcomes over the next 28 months.

Increased implementation of sustainable water supply infrastructure for reliable and affordable access to safe portable water in 30 communities.

Improved institutional capacity at national and local level, including communities and their water committees to manage solar water pumping systems and water resources thus removing barriers and creating an enabling environment for replication and up-scale of investments in sustainable water infrastructure.

Improved livelihoods and opportunities for income generation in rural areas through more reliable and safe water supplies.